Tank class and vehicle progression questions:

[Lichlord the Disparager]

Okay, for this discussion Tanks are:(Treads, Main gun, smoke, machine gun.). I see some players switch between weapons with ease. Using machine guns often... I disabled the mouse wheel weapon switching because I was turning off my AP ammo too often. What good are they against armor? Do they chew up treads? As I am primarily front line tanker, I do not bother with it. What good are they?

Vehicle progression differences? Why? My M60-A1 and the MOD 1969, if I recall, are AGONIZINGLY slow to progress. While some tanks, (most), you can max out in 3-5 battles?

[Arpente Reves]

MGs can destroy tracks if you are really bold, as well as maybe optics and ERA. They are mostly used against infantry but some very lightly armored vehicles can get penned so it's free bonus damage between your main gun reload

Progression gets slower with higher tiers

[Tigger]

Caveat - I am pretty much just a PvE player now.

Watch around 10:50 - as I had run out of ammunition (including the reload) so started just spotting and using my MG - You can see I was damaging LT, AFV, TD and even an MBT

(Edited time)

Did over 2000 damage to a full health superior Stingray killing it with just my MG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjj1eqM3djg&t=608s

As well as for dealing damage to vehicles (particularly light vehicles) you can use them to clear sight lines in built up areas, take down obstacles like buildings, vehicles, etc without wasting main gun ammunition and denying cover to the enemy.

Progression for tiers 1 to 3 is very very fast (and one of the reasons the devs at the moment have said its not worth them making new low tiers - takes as much time to make a tier 1 as it does a tier 10).

When you hit tier 4 it starts slowing, I can remember my first tier 7 the Challenger 1 - I took around 30 battles (without using premium, boosts or insignias) to get it but to get the tier 8 Ariete took just over 100 battles (the tech trees have moved since then)/

Using the free premium, boosts and insignias can significantly increase your progression

Personally I do not skip or use free xp to progress faster, I play each vehicle and play it all the way through, some may be painful for me (not everyone likes the same vehicles) but I believe it helps players improve their game and understanding of the mechanics.

Far too many rush the tiers, skip vehicles then get out of their depth when they hit tier 7 (6 to 7 is probably the biggest jump in PvE)

[Lichlord the Disparager]

All well said. Hell so far I find the tier 6 matches hit surprisingly hard. And yes I play each one through as well. That is what prompted my question. I really do not care for the wheeled vehicle's as they move much too fast for me to control comfortably, but I will play them through and appreciate the amount of damage they put out. Too fast sheesh I am old now!
\../,

[3 Wire]

Originally posted by Lichlord the Disparager:

All well said. Hell so far I find the tier 6 matches hit surprisingly hard. And yes I play each one through as well. That is what prompted my question. I really do not care for the wheeled vehicle's as they move much too fast for me to control comfortably, but I will play them through and appreciate the amount of damage they put out. Too fast sheesh I am old now!
\../,

Don't feel bad, I don't particularly care for the wheely things either, but speed and maneuverability are their primary assets, so if you want to play them, then driving skills at the higher speeds are of paramount importance.

I play mainly MBT's along with a select few AFV's and TD's, and I have found HEAT shells to be the most effective overall. On most of these vehicles a full ammo load out is often in excess of 30 (or more) rounds, which you'll rarely ever use that many in a typical match anyway, so for my purposes there's little reason to load anything else like AP, HESH, or HE because in most cases HEAT will do the same job and it saves you time from having to switch ammo types on the fly, which can sometimes be fatal.

The MG's I almost never use unless I just want to blast a fuel tank or something like that for giggles. Smoke is another thing I don't use all that often because I rarely find it necessary.

That's the thing about this game.... Everyone has their own priorities and preferences based on their experience, skill level, and a host of other factors. There's no right or wrong choices strictly speaking IMHO, and only playing the game for long enough will give you a feel for what those preferences are.

[Tigger]

Switching weapons is quite natural for me as I often play AFV or TD with more than one weapon (same with munitions).

MBT's with cannon like the STRV 2000 and AMX 30B2 Brennus are great little vehicles.

I mostly carry HEAT rounds as the main round - but still carry a couple of AP that I will switch to for certain targets and or angles.

MG can be useful for more than just shooting at a vehicle. secondary's, clearing sightlines are great use for it as well. I have even used my MG to get the AI attention so it can be finished off by someone else or distract it from a low health team mate (yeah I know, I am odd like that).

Smoke is situational, too many try and use it when it will not help and then say it is useless (when its their understanding that is faulty), I will use mine in most matches no matter what I am driving, sometimes to save or cover me, other times to save or cover a team mate (ok there's that odd me again)

Everyone is different and most can find what actually works for them (or not and so will not play certain vehicles or maps) - some believe of course that vehicles and the game should adapt to them as they will not or can not adapt and learn.